Manifolding attachment for writing machines



Nov. 9, 1937. H. ZIEGLER ,368

MANIFOLDING ATTACHMENT FOR WRITING MACHINES Filed Jan. 23, 1936 PatentedNov. 9, 1937 Hans Ziegler, Zollikon-Zurich, Switzerland ApplicationJanuary 23, 1936, Serial No. 60,424 In Switzerland March28, 1935 3Claims.

Several designs of appliances or devices on typewriters for makingcopies by means of auxiliary ribbons are known to-day. The latter thuseither are stretched onto a frame mounted on the typewriter-platen andfastened thereto by special means or stretched between two leversmounted on the platen-carriage and folded forward for use. Both types ofsuch devices show great disadvantages. With the first kind the framesmust fit exactly onto the platen, i. e. a great number of differentframes must be provided for all the different models of typewriters. Itfurthermore is very difiicult, in the case of various models oftypewriters, to hold said frames fast onto the platen, lest the one orthe other function of the typewriter be impaired. The devices of thesecond kind mentioned cannot be applied to all models of typewriters,since in the case of the latter being equipped with a sheetholder whichis set at an angle relative to the platen or curved in plan we do notsucceed in slipping the auxiliary ribbon under said sheetholder whenfolding the levers downward. Said devices moreover require quite somespace so that their application for portable typewriters is questioned.The auxiliary ribbon furthermore cannot be stretched sufficiently tightbetween the levers which are of quite some length and the paper thus isliable to become smudged.

All of said devices and appliances yet show a further materialdisadvantage: exchanging of the auxiliary ribbons and their fasteningwith a suitable tension offer great difiiculties and often lead to asoiling of our hands or a smudging of the paper.

Said disadvantages are eliminated by Way of the present invention.

The object of the invention at hand is a device on typewriters formaking copies by means of auxiliary ribbons, whereby a rod is mountedlongitudinally on the platen carriage, at least one support beingplugged onto said rod, another pair of rods mounted parallel to thefirstmentio-ned rod and. revolvably onto the lateral members of saidfirst rod and being joined in the center by a hollow rod, said hollowrod coritaining a helical spring pushing said pair of rods away fromeach other, said pair of rods being individually axially movable withinlimits of stopping means inside of said hollow rod and carrying each atits outer end a curved arm corresponding to the curvature of the platen,the free end of said arm being adapted for receiving an auxiliary ribbonprovided with end-pieces.

The device according to this invention can be l3 pushing the latterapart.

applied for all models of typewriters. .Due to its flexibility wesucceed in any and all cases in bringing the auxiliary ribbon readilyand easily between the sheets of paper and underneath the sheet-holderand the. lifting device for the typewriter-ribbon. The auxiliary ribbonalways is stretched as desired so that a smudging. of the paper isexcluded.

In the accompanying drawing a device according to the present inventionis exemplified, where V Fig. 1 is a front-elevation of the appliance inplace and where a single auxiliary ribbon is used;

Fig. 2 is a front-elevation of the device according to Fig. 1 in which,however, a second auxiliary ribbon is used;

Fig. 3 is a side-elevation in the writing position;

Fig. 4 is a side-elevation during the act of introducing the auxiliaryribbons between the papers to be written on; and

Fig. 5 shows a detail of a special design.

A rod 8, running longitudinally and parallel to the platen-carriage, ismounted onto the latter bymeans of holders 2 the form of which isadapted to the model of typewriter at hand. A support consisting of twolateral parts 3 and a flat stiffening rib 4 can be plugged onto said rodI, for which purpose the rear ends of lateral parts 3 are adapted asclamps. After having thus mounted support 3d on red i, the first can berotated about the latter. A shaft consisting of two rods 5 and 6, whichlatter are axially movable and guided inside a tube l, is mounted in thefront-ends of said lateral parts 3. Said rods 5 and 6 are securedagainst a turning or revolving inside said tube l by a pair of keys 3which engage in grooves 9 of said rods. The

. axial displacement of rods 5 and 5 is limited by the length of saidgrooves 9. A spring It] is arranged inside of tube '5 between rods 5 andAt the exterior ends of members 5 and 5 there are two flat arms l!curved in such a way as to be able to partly envelop circumferentiallythe platen. The free ends of said arms H are provided with teeth IE ontheir exterior sides. An auxiliary ribbon 13, the ends of which are heldby end-pieces M. provided with eyelets it for being hung onto said teethIt, is stretched betweensaid arms H. By reason of a plurality of teeth92 being provided on both said arms H the auxiliary ribbon 23 may beattached to arms H in various positions, and it thus is possible toselect for every model of typewriter the most suitable position of theauxiliary ribbon I3.

Said two. lateral parts 3 at their front-ends, into which the shaftconsisting of rods 5 and 6 is mounted, possess at their interior sidescurved surfaces I5 and rods 5 and'6 each possess a setscrew I'I lyingupon curved faces I6. Shaft 5-6'I with arms II being turned rearward theset-screws I? move along curved faces I6 and are being pushed againsteach other, and rods 5 and 6, overcoming the action of spring I0, movetoward each other and thus slacken the auxiliary ribbon I3 hung ontoarms II, so that the latter may readily and easily be taken out andreplaced by a new one. As the auxiliary ribbon is held but on itsend-pieces I4 which are not dyed, a soiling of ones hands is'out ofquestionwIf we again turn shaft 5--5'I with arms II fora ward, theauxiliary ribbon I3 automatically is stretched and is subjected to thetension ref quired for making goodcopies by way of spring I6 pushingapart rods. 5 and 6.

The auxiliary ribbon I3, introduced between' two copying papers, gives acopy of normal writing and another copy in a writing of opposite hand.If we use for. the latter very thin and translucent paper, it may be asreadily used as any other copy. The auxiliary ribbon I3, however, alsomay be covered on one side 'by a strip of material impermeable to thecopying dye, such as e. g. Cellophane, so that we obtain but one copy ofnormal writing.

Should several copies be made, we can use a second auxiliary ribbon I8,for which a support consisting of two lateral parts I9 and a flatstiffening rib 20 is provided, which.also-just like the device firstdescribedcarries a shaft of -two parts with arms onto which this secondauxiliary ribbon I8 is hung. Thelateral parts I9 are of such shape as tolie as flatly as possible, and

they are provided with clamps 2| for mounting them onto rod I. 7

Rod I by means of holders 2 is fastened once and for all to theplaten-carriage of the typewriter. For using the device described, wefirst mount the support with the first auxiliary ribbon I3 andafterwards, if so desired, also the support with the second auxiliaryribbon I8 onto rod I. By reason of the fact that, first, the support isrotatively movable about rod I, and, second, shaft 5-6-'I with arms II vis rotatively mounted on said support, an outstanding flexibility of thedevice is attained allowing us to readily and easily bring theauxiliaryribbon into its positionof use, even when it must be broughtunderneath an obliqueor curved sheet-holder. Due to this property thedevice may be applied for all models of typewriters.

It is recommended to fix rod I immovably and to adapt it at those placesin which the clamps of the support are mounted with a flattening of itssurface. Said clamps then are provided with a lower flat leg 22, whereastheir upper leg 23 is bent to such a shape as to' lie smoothly on rod I.When the support then is mounted onto' rod I and tilted forward theclamps themselves try to rotate up to a point where their fiat legs 22come to lie onto the flattened places of rod I. The supports thus areslightly pushed against the drum and stopped in this position. Thetendency of the support, when inserting the paper, of lifting itselfaway from the platen is thus eliminated.

I claim:'

1. A device on typewriters for making copies by means of auxiliaryribbons consisting of a rod mounted on the platen-carriage of thetypewriter, at least one support to be attached to said rod, a shaftrevolvably mounted in lateral parts of said support, said shaftconsisting of two parts joined and guided by a piece of tube containinga helical spring between the ends of said joinedtwo parts, the latterbeing pushed away from each other under the action of said spring, saidaxial displacement of said two parts being limited by keys inserted insaid tube, the

ill

exterior ends of said shaft each possessing an ends of said two parts,the latter being axially displaceable within said tube," saiddisplacement being limited by keys inserted in said tube, the exteriorends of said shaft each possessing an arm shaped according to thecurvature of the platen, means at the free end of said arm forsupporting an auxiliary ribbon provided with end-pieces and said lateralparts of said support being'provided with curved faces, and the two ends.of said joined shaft each carrying a setscrew which glides uponsaidcurved faces when rotating said shaft.

3.- A device on typewriters for making copies by means of auxiliaryribbons, consisting of a rod mounted on the platen-carriage, atleast onesupport to be attached to said rod, a shaft revolvably mountedin'lateral parts of said support,'said shaft consisting of two partsjoined and held in line by a piece of tube containing a helical springbetween the ends of said two parts, the latter being axiallydisplaceable within said tube, said displacement being limited by keysinserted in said tube, the exterior ends of said shaft each possessingan arm shaped according to the curvature of the platen, means at thefreeends of said arms for supporting an auxiliary ribbon provided withend-pieces, said lateral parts of said support being each provided witha curved face, the two ends of'said joined shaft each carrying aset-screw gliding upon said curved face when rotating with said shaft,and clamps for mounting said support onto said rod, the lower legs ofsaid clamps being flat and the upper ones being so curved in shape as topartly envelop said rod, said rod being furthermore flattened at thoseplaces where said clamps are mounted.

HANS ZIEGLER.

